Re: One language for the world

> The funny thing I find about the use of Pilipino in
> common use is people
> dont use it by itself yet (My friend Ann, who is
> fluent in Tagalog says
> she hates that). I watch this morning show from the
> Philippines
> occasionally (called Alas Singko y Medya (5:30)),
> and while they use lots
> of Tagalog, they still use a lot of English phrases
> (the weather girl
> often does this). So, the use of pure Pilipino hasnt
> stuck.
Exactly.  My native language is Pilipino (more
specifically, Tagalog), but I find myself groping for
English words at times.  It's just that the English
term pops out of my mind easier than its Tagalog
equivalent. Like the word "telephone" gets out of my
head easier whenever I see a telephone rather than the
word "telepono".  I can't even translate "sarcastic"
in Tagalog.  If I wanna say, "He's so sarcastic," I
would say, "Ang sarcastic naman niya." And how are you
supposed to say, "I'm not into it," in Pilipino?  And,
when I see numbers and when I count, it's always,
"one, two, three..." never "isa, dalawa, tatlo..."  Of
course it's also very true with me the other way
around, that there are some other things I can much
more easily say in Pilipino which I can't readily say
in English.

I try as much as possible to speak in straight
Pilipino, and I don't even consider myself speaking
Taglish or Enggalog (at least I don't say, "He's so
sarcastic naman"--now that's Taglish or is it
Enggalog? I'm not sure of the distinction), but there
are just some words that I find it easier to say in
English, especially when scientific terms are
involved, since 99 % of what I read is in English! And
this is true with most Filipinos (well, maybe for most
of them, it would be like 90-95%, but still...).

English is just so dominant in the Philippines. Go to
any bookstore in the Philippines and you'll see that
the vast majority of books are written in English, and
those books that are written in Pilipino are in a
special section, and almost always, they are NOT about
scientific stuff.  English TV shows and movies are NOT
shown with subtitles or any dubbing in the
Philippines.  All FM stations broadcast in English,
and these stations only hire DJs with American (or
Canadian, Australian or British) or Pilipino-American
(or near-American, semi-American or whatever you may
call it) accents.

The situation is getting better, though.  In the early
80s, out of the 5 evening newsbroadcasts in Manila,
only one is in Pilipino.  After the EDSA Revolution,
the situation has reversed.  Now only one out of the 6
evening newsbroadcasts is in English, and it has the
lowest rating of the six.  All AM stations broadcast
in Pilipino.

People here in America quite often ask me how it was
learning English when I first studied it.  I really
find this question difficult to answer because I have
understood English ever since I started to remember
anything.  So maybe I can say that I started to learn
English and Tagalog at the same time, but it's just
that English is the language I use for reading and
Tagalog is the language I use for speaking. So I'm
definitely more comfortable speaking in Tagalog, it's
just that there are some things that are easier for me
to express in English.


I Honestly
> dont think it will for anywhere but in education and
> Government, and
> business. I don't see people in my grandfather's
> town in Aklan making much
> use of it :).
> >
When my father was growing up in Mindanao, they viewed
Tagalog with much suspicion.  It was just too foreign
to them.  It was like learning a foreign language to
them back then.  But, that has changed now.

> This seems to be the case with the Philippines.
> English and Spanish are
> considered the languages of aristocracy, business,
> education, etc. and at
> least with my relatives, they like speaking English
> (English is considered
> a second official language there).
This is very true.  Filipinos like to speak English,
and they would use it on every possible occasion. Even
when they are talking with a foreigner, or even a
Filipino who grew up outside the Philippines, who
understands Tagalog very well, they would still talk
to him in English so they can practice their English
and at the same time show off their English skills and
make themselves feel more "cultured and
sophisticated".
It's funny even my mom talks to my Chinese relatives
in English even though it won't make any difference if
she would talk to them in Tagalog since they don't
understand a single word of any of the two languages!
No wonder my American teacher in high school never
really got to learn Tagalog (he only knows the usual
touristy stuff like "good morning") even though he had
been in the Philippines for 40 years!


Also, most
> foreigners that visit
> already know English, so Filipinos probably feel
> English is more important
> than Pilipino (also, most may feel they wont really
> go anywhere else but
> stick to their region, so they really wont need to
> learn Pilipino except
> in school).
In the non-Tagalog areas nowadays, they see Tagalog
the way Tagalog people see English.  They feel they're
more "cultured and sophisticated" when they speak
Tagalog.  I've had first-hand experience of that
myself.  Whenever I speak Cebuano in my father's
hometown (although I have a Tagalog accent,
admittedly), the people there would answer back in
Tagalog because of the same reasons I just said about
Pilipinos when they are speaking with foreigners. The
only exception is Cebu City.  They are particularly
resentful about Tagalog being the basis for Pilipino.
Even when I flub on my Cebuano, they would still
continue talking to me in Cebuano.  They feel they
don't have to "go down" to the level of speaking
Tagalog, unless the person doesn't understand Cebuano
at all.

Andre


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